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Nations - Gosmarin
Name: Gosmarin *'Capital:' Gosmarin *'Political system:' Dig, dwarf rule. *'Climate/terrain: '''Nordic temperate. Mountains *'Size:' Very small *'Population (total): '5,000 - 20,000, varying depending on season. **'Humans: '15% **'Anfylk: '5% **'Dwarves: '75% **'Elves: '5% **'Other: '0% *'Military: 'No standing army. Internal security maintained by law enforcement. *'Education: 'No official education system. Non-dwarven kids born and raised in the country are educated privately and sent abroad for higher learning. *'Industry: 'The Gosmarin Locks provides a safe and swift way for shipping traffic to bypass the Gosmarin Falls without having to unload cargo and transport it over land. The fees for using the locks and the trade brought by ships passing is the main support of the little nation. *'Relations: 'Neutral **'Friendly: 'The nation of Gosmarin tries to stay on friendly terms with all nations, neighbours or not. **'Non-friendly: '''No nation is openly hostile towards Gosmarin, but it is suspected that there are several who would enjoy taking control of and taxing the small nation. Notes The small nation covers the area of the Gosmarin Falls and the surrounding mountains. The falls are impassable by boat and there are few roads in the region. The falls long served to separate the trade on River Vil, upstream, from trade on River Gosmar downstream. Boats couldn't handle the falls and there were no safe or reliable paths on which to transport wares over land. Trade between upriver and downriver had to use long caravan roads elsewhere. The falls originally belonged to a small duchy in the kingdom of Mareltswan, but after the eradication of the Haman Empire the kingdom collapsed and the duchy was deserted. After this the only inhabitants of the region were a few dwarven digs, a handful of elves and the occasional band of outlaw humans. This way it remained until the resurgence of the dwarves. Due to the inaccessibility of the region the resurgence came late here but once it came it was all the more successful. The dwarves at first started working on rail roads, as dwarves so often though. But, the realization soon dawned on them that a way for boats to travel between the rivers Vil and Gosmar would be of greater benefit to the world. This lead to the construction of the First Gosmarin Locks, which in turn lead to the founding of the Gosmarin nation, one of the worlds first dwarven states. The locks enabled boats to travel with relative ease and safety between the rivers Vil and Gosmar; a journey of some fifty kilometres with a difference in elevation of nearly one hundred and sixty meters. This naturally led to an increase in trade and travel between the two rivers and despite some growing pains the young nation prospered. The First Gosmarin Locks were expanded and rebuilt numerous times but in year 3221 BE they were finally retired completely by the Second Gosmarin locks after nearly five hundred years of service. This second set of locks serviced trade passing through Gosmarin for over seven hundred years and were replaced by the Third Gosmarin Locks in year 3945 BE. The entire nation is now riddled with tunnels, aqueducts, locks, canals and artificial lakes serving to transport even the largest ships between the two rivers. The First and Second locks see no commercial use these days but they are still maintained and kept in working condition. The reason is that they are popular destinations for tourists who admire them both for their aesthetic beauty and for the impressive feats of dwarven engineering they still are. For those not content with a simple visit to the locks there are fully fitted house boats available. In such a boat the trip up or down the First Gosmarin Locks makes for a handful of very comfortable days.